x86 Surface Pro: $899 for 64GB, $999 for 128GB, no keyboard included [Updated]

Better screen, more weight, and half the battery life of its ARM sibling.

Microsoft has announced the pricing of the x86 version of its Surface tablet. Available some time in January, the Surface with Windows 8 Pro, as it will be known, will cost $899 for the version with 64GB storage. Doubling the storage tacks $100 on to the purchase price.

The Surface Pro will be very similar to the Surface RT, with the same VaporMg finish, kickstand, and aesthetic. There are a few differences, however. Unlike the ARM version, the x86 device includes an active digitizer with pen support and an included pen, a USB 3 port, a screen resolution of 1920×1080 (as opposed to Surface RT's 1366×768), 10-point multitouch (instead of 5), and mini-DisplayPort for external screens (rather than mini-HDMI, as on Surface RT). Powering the device will be an as-yet unspecified Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor and 4GB RAM. The system will weigh 2lbs, and is about 14mm thick.

Update: Microsoft has also tweeted that the Surface Pro's battery life will be about half that of the Surface RT, which translates to around 4-4.5 hours.

Neither the $899 nor the $999 price includes a Touch Cover or Type Cover keyboard. These will be sold separately.

When Surface was announced back in June, Microsoft said that the x86 version would ship within about 90 days of the ARM variant; the company still isn't offering a more specific date.

Well, at least we know that percentage-wise, it costs less to upgrade storage on the Surface than on an iPad. It's not much of a consolation though... And considering that Windows 8 takes up almost 16GB by itself, the need for 64GB is apparent at this price point...

A x86 tablet seems interesting, but at those prices it is going to be fairly niche. The screen resolution is nice though, but I have a feeling the battery life won't be. This x86 tablet seems a bit awkward imo. I guess they need to start refining from somewhere.

More expensive than I was hoping for, but still pretty decent. The idea of this thing sounds great, but I just wonder if the 10" screen will limit its usefulness for digital art applications....which is pretty much all I would want it for.

Like the RT - I think this is overpriced compared to earl (hopes?) expectations. Certainly it looks more like a flagship device than a device to boost market share again. Having to buy the keyboard cover separately is less of a % hit with this version at least. Still, there are some very capable Win8 hybrid/laptop thingummies around within this price bracket it would have to compete with.

Hmm... $999 was my upper end price point for a launch day purchase, but that was w/a KB and I was frankly hoping for a 256GB option. Even with the microSD slot and full USB connectivity, it would've been nice to have more storage right off the bat for a full Windows, x86 device.

Add the KB and you're back up to $1100+, which was what was previously speculated, and comparable to the Samsung ATIV pricing. I might hold off to see if possible slow sales might result in a price drop in a few months. I read that MS is pricing in rather high margins in their Surface RT, and sales have been slower than expected so it's not unreasonable to think they'll debut the Surface Pro to a higher price than what it'll end up in a few months. Unless the reviews are horrible, I'll still be picking this up, but there's no hurry other than I'd really like a new toy for the holidays.

I mean if it weighs a ton and only gets less than 2 hours of active battery life it'll be DOA.

Weight isn't an issue - under 2 pounds - but it seems to me that if it had great battery life, Microsoft would be marketing on that. My worry is that their silence means the battery life is mediocre. I'm with the poster who wants 8 hours - I need to be able to get through a full day of travel, and still have a little left when I get to the hotel.

I'd really like to know if the active digitizer for this is made by Wacom. I've heard that with Samsung's ATIV PC Pro 700T you can use any Wacom stylus, and that would be great for doing art on the thing. The pricing seems pretty much identical when you consider that the Samsung includes a keyboard, but it's impossible to find and I'd like to see a review comparing the two before making a decision.

Well, at least we know that percentage-wise, it costs less to upgrade storage on the Surface than on an iPad. It's not much of a consolation though... And considering that Windows 8 takes up almost 16GB by itself, the need for 64GB is apparent at this price point...

Windows RT taking up 16GB might have a lot to do with it shipping with Office, no?

hubick wrote:

I still want higher PPI (iPad 3) and more RAM (16 Gb).

What on earth are you going to do on a tablet that requires 16GB of RAM?

Pricing is a little better than I expected, although it might still be too high to be competitive, especially without a keyboard. I think battery life will be the clincher. If it's better than an ultrabook, the Surface Pro could be worth looking at. If not, there's no point. Looking forward to the review.

No keyboard makes no sense. People are going to buy the Pro to run desktop apps. For those you're going to need a keyboard (and probably a touchpad over a pen). It really makes no sense to have it as an add on.

$899 for a wacom integrated tablet with some decent processing power is not a bad deal by any stretch, especially with a 1080p screen. I assume the pressure sensitivity will be lowish compared to the latest Intuos models, but even 1k can do quite nicely. Usually the ppi in these integrated digitizers stays reasonably competitive.

The real question will be how well this actually works/performs in practice, but I could easily see these being sought after as essentially Cintiq replacements with mobility, even if nothing else (and personally I'm sure there are a myriad of other options these will be bought for).

It's still expensive, but they made it under the 1k mark. And if you haven't used a pressure sensitive tablet before by comparison to one without sensitivity, it's a huge difference in terms of even just writing. A good stylus makes a world of difference if you plan on using the tablet as more than just a media consumption device (with some light creation capabilities when attaching a keyboard).

While I would like keyboard included at that price, it is actually not a bad deal. Not market busting offer but a solid portable machine that can run all desktop apps and be hooked up to a proper monitor/keyboard when not on the road. This actually makes Surface RT look even more overpriced.

Not really liking Win8 and Metro interface but might consider buying one of these for client demos and road trips.

Maybe I just don't enough about the Surface in general but it seems Microsoft is not being clear on how they want to market the Surface brand. The Surface RT is marketed as a tablet, and takes aim at the iPad. This, however, seems to be a modern version of the tablet PC's of the early to mid 2000's. I feel like that could be confusing and off putting to many consumers, putting this in a pretty niche territory. I don't see a problem with that, but to market it so closely to the Surface RT seems misplaced. If you're looking at an iPad, regardless of what version, there's no illusion that you're getting a Mac. This seem to blur the lines a bit.

For those comparing this to either tablets or laptops, aren't you forgetting the most important thing about this? It is x86, so there is nothing on the market like it. It should hands down beat tablets due to an app library never before seen on a tablet, and it should also trump laptops due to it being a tablet form-factor.

This is pretty competitive even with ultrabooks. The only question is battery life.

Make it 8 hours and you have a sale Microsoft.

They better get more than 8 hours of battery, as my 1 1/2 year old Thinkpad gets 8 hours on battery still. If I am going to replace/subsidize this with a table it should get 10 to 12 hours, though Lenovo does offer a 12 hour battery for my laptop, so it should exceed battery life of a laptop. And FYI, my laptop is an Edge E420S, Core i5 3rd gen Sandy, 8 GB RAM, 320GB HDD, dual band WiFi, BT, and all the other bells and whistles. And I paid less than what MS has their Surface Pro priced at, $870

No keyboard makes no sense. People are going to buy the Pro to run desktop apps. For those you're going to need a keyboard (and probably a touchpad over a pen). It really makes no sense to have it as an add on.

And display port?!? Seriously?!?

A touchpad over a pen? Have you ever used an active digitizer enabled display? Personally I can't see anyone choosing a touchpad over a stylus.

If you've never used software like One Note and Windows 7's native handwriting recognition, you might not realize that you really don't NEED a keyboard in terms of being able to input. Whether the keyboard can be faster is another matter. I've had some pretty rushed-scribbley notes get transcribed just fine, though.

Also, why not displayport? It's royalty free and superior flexibility to HDMI, along with support for passive conversion if it's dual mode (with TMDS). It's a mini/micro port, so practically everyone would need a converter (as in, from mini to normal) whether it was HDMI or displayport.

They better get more than 8 hours of battery, as my 1 1/2 year old Thinkpad gets 8 hours on battery still. If I am going to replace/subsidize this with a table it should get 10 to 12 hours, though Lenovo does offer a 12 hour battery for my laptop, so it should exceed battery life of a laptop. And FYI, my laptop is an Edge E420S, Core i5 3rd gen Sandy, 8 GB RAM, 320GB HDD, dual band WiFi, BT, and all the other bells and whistles. And I paid less than what MS has their Surface Pro priced at, $870

How large and heavy and what resolution is this laptop and is the price you paid available to everyone in the public? It definitely sounds nice though.